Justin Brazeau here to stay

Justin Brazeau is sticking around with the red hot Battalion. File photo by Tom Martineau/BayToday.ca.

There was a sigh of relief from Battalion nation once the noon overage trade deadline passed on Wednesday and they realized Justin Brazeau was here to stay.

The passing of the overage trade deadline means that right winger Justin Brazeau, second in league scoring with 37 goals and 31 assists for 68 points in 40 games, will finish his four-year OHL career with North Bay. Brazeau, a native of New Liskeard, Ont., was a 13th-round pick in 2014.

“The last couple of days leading up, you don’t know what’s going to happen, so it’s nice that it’s past and I can look forward to the rest of the season,” said Brazeau, during the Wednesday weekly media conference at Memorial Gardens.

“I’m happy where I am. I love it here. I can’t ask for anything more, so I’m happy to be a North Bay Battalion for the rest of the year. I’m happy to be able to finish out my four years here. It’s been great. They’ve treated me really well, so I’m happy to be here.”

Brazeau is set to continue his assault on the franchise record book.

In 240 games, he has 104 goals and 89 assists for 193 points, ninth on the career list. He trails Brett McKenzie by five points for the most earned by a Battalion player since relocation to North Bay from Brampton in 2013.

Brazeau’s 37 goals this season are 13 short of Mike Amadio’s record of 50, set in 2015-16. Now he is hoping that record breaking pace will earn him a contract in 2019 with an NHL team.

Brazeau and the Troops are on the ice tonight at home when they host the visiting Mississauga Steelheads. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Gardens.

It’s the third of six meetings between the Battalion and Steelheads, who split the first two, Mississauga winning 4-3 Oct. 18 at North Bay and the visiting Troops prevailing 5-2 Nov. 23.

To complete weekend play, the Battalion embarks on a two-game road trip, facing the Peterborough Petes on Saturday night and the Kingston Frontenacs on Sunday night.

In other news, the Battalion completed a minor deal Wednesday, sending goaltender Cal Schell to the Oshawa Generals for a sixth-round pick in 2021. North Bay took Schell from the Burlington Cougars midgets in the second round of the 2018 OHL Under-18 Priority Selection. He has played this season with the Hamilton Kilty B’s of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

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